“All I want to do at this moment is to get even more soused,” his friend announced, squinting at him. “Devil take it, how many of you are standing there?”
“I would wager you are soused enough,” he said grimly.
“We should take our leave,” Leydon was saying, his tone laced with disapproval.
“Poor Mr. Barlowe,” Elysande said at his side. “Losing two brothers at once must be quite a shock.”
His friend merely took another swig directly from his bottle of wine. A shock indeed. But given his current state, and his company, there was nothing Hudson could do for his friend just now.
“I will speak to him later,” Hudson decided. “For now, perhaps it would be best to seek Greymoor instead.”
“Death seems to follow you, sir,” observed Royston as the four of them made a hasty retreat to the carriage.
Hudson would have corrected him, but he was alarmed to admit his brother-in-law was not wrong.
Chapter 16
Elysande was in the drawing room with her sisters and mother when Chief Inspector O’Rourke arrived. The man’s return had been inevitable, but she could not deny the sour suspicion unfurling in her stomach at his obsequious appearance. He fawned over her mother and sisters and herself quite nicely. She supposed he only reserved his scorn and suspicion for Hudson.
But why?
One thing was certain, she did not trust him.
“My husband is not at home, Chief Inspector O’Rourke,” she offered when the niceties were complete.
Hudson, her father, and her brother had paid a call to the Black Souls Club to make further inquiries after their earlier interview with the Marquess of Greymoor had revealed Chief Inspector O’Rourke had not questioned him to confirm Hudson’s whereabouts on the night of the murder. The omission had been as telling as it was troubling.
“Fortunately for me, you are the one I wished to speak to rather than the duke,” he said, addressing her in an unctuous tone. “Forgive me for the intrusion, Your Grace. I was wondering if I might have a word with you in private.”
She had no desire to be alone with the man. “Surely anything you wish to say may be spoken freely before my mother and sisters, Inspector.”
He gave her a patronizing smile that did not reach his eyes. “Unfortunately, it is customary for all Scotland Yard interviews to be conducted independently. As much as I would like to honor your request, in the interest of preserving the integrity of the case, I cannot.”
An interview? What in heaven’s name did Chief Inspector O’Rourke possibly think she had to offer in the case of Mrs. Ainsley’s murder? She had not even been present in London at the time. She hesitated in her response, looking to Mama and Izzy and the twins.
“If the inspector requires confidentiality, then your sisters and I shall be happy to go,” Mama decided. “We will be expecting you and Wycombe for dinner this evening.”
She wanted to rail against their departure, but she also did not want to give the inspector any ammunition. Since Papa’s town house had been prepared, Elysande was no longer playing hostess, and there was no reason for her mother and sisters to remain.
“Of course,” she said, feigning serenity.
Izzy caught her gaze, giving her a telling look as they took their leave. Elysande gave her shoulders a slight shrug. What else was she meant to do? If she refused, she was likely to only increase the inspector’s suspicions. She had nothing to hide, and neither did Hudson.
He was innocent.
Reminding herself of that important fact, she faced Chief Inspector O’Rourke after her mother and sisters had retreated from the drawing room.
“Would you care for tea, sir?” she asked calmly, as if he were paying a true social call.
“No, thank you, Your Grace,” Chief Inspector O’Rourke denied. “However, you may wish to be seated for this conversation.”
“I prefer to stand, sir,” she said, because the notion of sitting near to him pretending as if he were a welcome visitor, was odious.
This man was trying to charge Hudson with murder, she reminded herself.
Furthermore, he had hopelessly bungled his investigation of Mrs. Ainsley’s death. He had already decided upon the killer’s identity, and he remained determined to pursue his theory, regardless of how thoroughly wrong he was.
“As you wish, Your Grace.” He inclined his head, his mien becoming grim. “Undoubtedly, you are aware of the witness who offered her testimony in regards to the presence of the Duke of Wycombe at the scene of the murder.”
